Comedy Central Hopes To Re-Book Chris Brown On ‘The Daily Show’

“Guest bookings are always subject to change,” Comedy Central said today in a statement, when asked. “The show hopes to reschedule Chris for a future appearance.”

Comedy Central declined to comment when asked if last night’s last-minute cancellation, which Noah did not address on air, is connected to a report the previous day that the Brown booking was causing controversy among the show’s staff. That controversy was tied to Brown’s felony assault conviction six years ago, The Daily Beast wrote, citing unnamed sources. Brown, you’ll recall, was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months of community service after pleading guilty to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna on Grammy night 2009 in Los Angeles.

And yet, other TV programs besides The Daily Show have booked Brown since he pleaded guilty and during a period when he continued to make headlines with probation violations, violent outbursts, etc.

In March 2011, for instance, ABC News booked Brown for Good Morning America. He threw a temper tantrum in the dressing room of that show’s Times Square headquarters, claiming GMA co-host Robin Roberts “ambushed” him with a question about his ’09 guilty plea. Brown believed he had gone on the ABC News morning show to plug his new album and not take any questions about the Rihanna-abuse case. Roberts, while interviewing Brown, brought up the subject by way of noting that the restraining order against him recently had been relaxed. Brown got mad — though not mad enough to forget to sing a number from his new album. Only after that bit of business was concluded did he hightail it to his dressing room and take off his shirt, after which a window in the dressing room somehow collided with a cooler. Brown then quickly exited the building, leaving his shirt to fend for itself, and the Twitter heavens opened up.

BET’s 106 & Park also booked Brown. That booking occurred right after his dangerous GMA dressing room encounter with the window and the cooler.

“First of all, are you OK?” 106 & Park host Rocsi — a.k.a. Raquel Roxanne Diaz — asked Brown solicitously at the start of that interview. Brown explained GMA was responsible for his outburst, for having failed to comply with his demands.

“When I do shows or when I do interviews, we always send out … a talking points sheet,” Brown explained to the BET audience. “And if the network, or whoever, isn’t complying with what we want to do — so we can equally accomplish a goal — we usually kind of back out and wait until it’s a better situation.”

Which brings us to last night.

According to Daily Beast report on Monday, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah had hoped to use last night’s scheduled Brown interview to discuss domestic abuse issues, Noah’s own ex-stepfather allegedly having abused his mother, Daily Beast explained.

But that conversation would have raised the specter of more press reports about Noah’s Twitter history. Too late! Multiple news outlets covering the Brown cancellation have noted that right around the time Brown smashed the window at GMA – but long before Noah took over as The Daily Show host – Noah had tweeted: “Chris Brown’s FAME album is no#1 on iTunes. Rihanna is cancelling shows due to poor sales. I guess he beat her again.”

They’ve also point out that, much earlier, in October 2009, Noah had tweeted, “Today because of allergies, I woke up and my face was puffy and swollen- I looked like I was in the car with chris brown.”

Noah has maintained, when news outlets looked at his Twitter history once before, after he was named Jon Stewart’s replacement on the much-lauded late-night show, that “To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.”

7 Comments

So now Comedy Central has a Spin Zone? The Daily Show staff staged a mutiny? Comedy Central is obviously lying? How fast they have fallen since Stewart left.

wjm980 • on Dec 3, 2015 3:26 am

Another pathetic attempt by CC to make their dying franchise seem “edgy”. It’s over CC, just put the show out of its misery.

Jim Asbury • on Dec 3, 2015 5:58 am

When Stewart announced he was leaving, I left too. I tried watching with the new host but he seemed more of a imitation than an original. As far as Chris Brown is concerned, this appearance seems more like an effort to publicize his concert tour but now it looks like an attempt to ambush him. He has no obligation to submit to this kind of treatment, I don’t blame him for backing out. He’s a fading star. He blew his reputation to bits, his music, if you want to call it that, is tired and worn out. What ever talent he has is lost in a swirl of recording studio trickery.

Bubbaliscious • on Dec 3, 2015 6:43 am

I was planning on watching the first 20-minutes of the show and erasing the rest when Chris Brown was slated to come on. Thankfully, he didn’t and instead we were treated to an awkward interview with Nick Cannon. Regardless of the reasons, Chris Brown is a social pariah and continues to stay one with his unprofessionalism and angry outbursts. He still thinks he’s been done wrong by society and is on the edge of exploding and shows only want to book him to generate controversy. There’s nothing interesting about an interview with someone like this. It puts everyone involved in a weird situation, including the viewer.

BC • on Dec 3, 2015 9:36 am

Got this announcement too late. I deleted the show my DVR when I saw Chris Brown was a scheduled guest.

Jane • on Dec 3, 2015 6:38 pm

Really glad Chris Brown wasn’t on the show, but disappointed they want to book him again. Won’t continue watching the show if they do. So sick of abusers getting second, third, forever chances. Especially those that don’t even denounce their own behavior. Why not have a survivor on there instead or maybe someone who used to be abusive that has actually gotten treatment and became a better person?

• on Dec 4, 2015 1:40 pm

You all sound pathetic. Don’t you all have a history? He made a mistake once and has been punished to much by perfect people like you. I/we love breezy to the core, that man is talented, creative, a dancer, a father, role model to many AND he brought it this 2015. He continously makes hit after hit! You are all perfect and we don’t like you. Breeezeeee